Trump Urged to Put Nation Before Family Profits
Given the international scope of the Trump Organization’s operations, a newly sworn-in President Trump will likely run afoul of several anti-corruption protections from Day One.
Ethics
Trump Meeting Raises Ethical Concerns
NPR, Marketplace Morning Report, November 21, 2016: There are concerns about ethics and propriety after Donald Trump met last week with three business partners from India. The three are involved with Trump Tower Mumbai, a luxury apartment complex that bears the Trump name, and they've told Indian media that they hope to do more business with the Trumps. The meeting raised questions about the fact that Trump still hasn't agreed to put a wall between himself and his global business holdings, which include operations in at least 18 countries.
Rick Berman Exposed in New Audio; Hear His Tactics against Environmentalists and Workers Rights
Rick Berman, the king of corporate front groups and propaganda, has been caught on tape. Listen:
James O'Keefe Cronies Unveiled in Attempted Sting on CMD
It turned out that CMD hadn't seen the last of the O'Keefe crowd.
Case Study on Alpine Steel: Prison Industry Subsidized by Taxpayers to Compete with Local Businesses Fails Spectacularly
"The taxpayers have been left holding the bag.... As a result of this I think there is going to be a lot more oversight." Those were statements made by Nevada Assemblyman James Ohrenschall in an interview on Vegas Inc. September 21.
Group Focused on Goverment Ethics Puts Scott Walker on List of “Worst Governors in America”
This week, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a non-profit government watchdog group, released a report -- "The Worst Governors in America," and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker came in sixth in the top category. The report has an amusing circus theme and dubs Walker a "Ringmaster," but it is heavily documented and footnoted to reliable sources and primary documents. The criteria CREW used when assessing the nation's governors were the following: corruption, transparency, partisan politics, pressuring public officials, cronyism, self-enrichment, scandal and mismanagement.
Wisconsin Ethics Board Fails to Curb ALEC Shell Game
In theory, Wisconsin has some of the strongest ethics and lobbying laws in the country -- legislators cannot accept even a cup of coffee from lobbyists or others who have an interest in the outcome of legislation -- but these laws are meaningless if the state ethics board does not take action to enforce them.
The Steubenville Case: Social Media Plays Role in the Prosecution of a Rape Case
Two teenage girls were arrested and detained this week for Tweeting threats to a rape victim. It appears that the young people of Steubenville have not learned much about the uses of social media even after the extraordinary trials and convictions of two young men for rape this week in a case that relied heavily upon the photos, videos, and Tweets taken concomitantly with the crime.
Sen. Sanders and Rep. Deutch Press for New Democracy Amendment
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) have introduced a new constitutional amendment to overturn the damage done by Citizens United, Buckley v. Valeo, and other judicial decisions that have diluted the role of ordinary people in American democracy.
What Is Visa Hiding? Majority Shareholders Thwart Effort to Require More Disclosure of Money Spent on ALEC
A majority of Visa shareholders rejected an effort to require the company to provide more disclosure about its role in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and related lobbying activities. Boston Common Asset Management, an investment firm focused on socially responsible investing, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), a religious organization that affirms the inherent capacity for good in human beings, filed a resolution to require the company to disclose all payments used for lobbying purposes, including payments to groups like ALEC. In all, over 100 million votes were cast in favor of the resolution -- 37% -- but that substantial outpouring of support for greater transparency accounted for less than a majority of the votes cast by Visa shareholders.
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